Banacek

(1972 - 1974)

Crime / Drama

90 minutes

Cast: 

Banacek was a crime drama program airing on NBC for two seasons from 1972 – 1974 as part of their Wednesday Mystery Movie line-up.  Banacek alternated with Madigan starring Richard Widmark and Cool Million starring James Farentino during the first season, and with Faraday and Company, The Snoop Sisters and Tenafly for part of the second season.  Part way through the second season the line up only included Banacek and The Snoop Sisters.

Suave, cultured, a ladies’ man, and proud to be Polish, Banacek is a very successful investigator, as evidenced by his mansion on Beacon Hill, the Rolls Royce he drove, and the limousine he is chauffeured around in.  He takes on seemingly impossible to solve cases, earning ten percent of the value of the stolen goods he manages to recover.

He would often confound his chauffeur, Jay Drury, with his seemingly nonsensical quotations such as, “Though the hippopotamus has no sting, the wise man would prefer to be sat upon by the bee”.

Banacek often worked his cases using information he obtained from Felix Mulholland, the owner of a rare bookstore.  One of his one-and-off love interests was the lovely Carlie Kirkland.

Episodes:

Banacek: Detour to Nowhere 3/20/1972 (Pilot)

Let's Hear It For A Living Legend 9/12/1972

Project Phoenix 9/27/1972

No Sign of the Cross 10/11/1972

A Million the Hard Way 11/01/1972

To Steal A King 11/15/1972

Ten Thousand Dollars a Page 1/10/1973

The Greatest Collection of Them All 1/24/1973

The Two Million Clams of Cap'n Jack 2/7/1973

No Stone Unturned 10/3/1973

If Max Is So Smart, Why Doesn't He Tell Us Where He Is? 11/7/1973

The Vanishing Chalice 1/15/1974

Horse of a Slightly Different Color 1/22/1974

Rocket to Oblivion 2/12/1974

Fly Me — If You Can Find Me 2/19/1974

Now You See Me, Now You Don't 3/12/1974